Almost 200,000 illegal migrants arrived in the European Union (EU) in the last year, the highest number since 2017, the European border control agency Frontex announced, adding that the illegal migratory flow has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The number of illegal arrivals was 57% higher than in 2020, when restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic drastically reduced migration, but also 36% more than in 2019, Frontex said in a statement.
The number of illegal arrivals to the EU in 2021, “just under 200,000”, is now higher “than pre-pandemic levels”, added the Warsaw-based agency.
“This suggests that factors other than the lifting of restrictions on global mobility are behind the increase in migratory pressure,” Frontex said.
In 2021, a new factor was the influx of migrants, mainly from the Middle East, through Belarus, in what the EU considers an operation orchestrated by the Minsk regime.
Frontex also observed a sharp increase in migrant arrivals through the central Mediterranean, the Western Balkans and Cyprus.
The main route for migrants was the central Mediterranean, where 65,362 illegal migrants arrived, about a third of the total. From one year to the next, the increase was 83% on that route, according to Frontex.
The Western Balkans saw an increase of 124% compared to 2020, reaching 60,540 illegal migrants. In Cyprus, 14,400 arrivals were registered, 123% more than in the previous year.
Last year, Syrians were the most numerous among illegal migrants, followed by Tunisians, Moroccans, Algerians and Afghans.
SOURCE: The Portugal News
